I think I may have posted about this pistol here years ago when I was trying to identify the markings.  I picked it up at a pawn shop outside Fort Knox back in 2003 for somewhere around $350, I think - I didn't know much about them but just wanted a plain-Jane example of this classic pistol.  It's definitely seen some use and has a few dings, pitting, etc, but I still enjoy having it around.  A recent discussion about Hi-Powers inspired me to pull out this old pistol again.  One of the original checkered grips was damaged, so I tracked down the newer style grips and took it out to the range a couple weeks for the first time in probably a decade.  To be honest, I don't plan to shoot it very often, and I want to keep it mostly stock, in terms of sticking with Browning factory parts.  I just think it's an interesting pistol but don't plan to sink a lot of money into it.  I do want to upgrade the old safety (which barely functions and is pretty beat up) and maybe add a Commander-style hammer.  I'd love to hear from the Browning experts here if anyone has any insight into when this pistol may have been produced.  I'm guessing it was part for an old police or military order, most likely for another country.  It seems to have very plain markings compared to others I've seen.





It has a 6-digit serial number that doesn't seem to fit in any listings I've found, so I'm guessing that it was originally part of a police or military production batch.  The markings are very basic, more so than commercial examples I've seen, and it has an interesting candlestick (I think) stamping on the barrel and trigger guard:







It also has this small "T*" marking on the slide:



I believe this is an import marking?  I recall reading when I originally bought the pistol that this was the authorized importer in Savannah, GA:



Simple Browning slide marking (and some of the wear and tear on the slide):



This is the one serious ding on the pistol - not sure how someone did this to the rear sights, but it looks like they dropped it perfectly on some kind of hard edge, or maybe banged into something while the pistol was holstered. It doesn't really affect my sight picture - it's just kind of unsightly:



I'm curious if anyone has ever seen these types of markings.  I've always figured it was a '60s / '70s era police pistol, but I haven't been able to find any information about it.

Now for the brief range report: I fired 50 rounds of Federal Champion 115 gr FMJ through it, using the original 13-round magazine that came with it. I can't report too much on its accuracy - I was just test firing it on a used target, and I've been struggling with the bad habit of overcompensating for recoil (pulling down and left) which I developed in the last couple years.  I had two malfunctions that I'm thinking are extractor related. The first was a failure to extract the spent casing, and the slide jammed the next round in behind the empty casing.  I was unable to drop the magazine and had to lock the slide back first. The second malfunction happened on the last round of the day: the slide locked back on the empty magazine, but the casing was left sitting loose on top of the follower  - it had extracted but not ejected properly. I'm guessing this old pistol could use a new extractor and/or spring. One thing I'd forgotten about the Hi-Power is how small the ejection port is; it's a real contrast between this classic pistol and contemporary designs. My apologies for the poor-quality iPhone photos.

A few final thoughts:

The slide is really narrow compared to today's pistols - it feels strange, but kind of sleek, to have the fat double-stacked grip combined with narrow upper part of the frame and the slide. It's very comfortable to point and shoot, and I'm amazed by how smooth the trigger feels compared to the Glock 17 and USP Compact I shot prior to the Hi-Power that day.  Maybe this is due to its age and the many rounds that probably went through it over the years (this is the only Hi-Power I have any experience with). As I mentioned above, the safety has to be replaced - it works but needs a lot of effort to manipulate it. I may go with the Browning ambidextrous version. I doubt I'll use this pistol very often, but as I said, I like having an example of this classic handgun in the collection.

Let me spend some of your money for ya.  Go to Brownells and buy yourself a set of Navidrex Micarta grips.  IMO these thing grips magically transform a pistol the fits your hand nicely to perfection of fit.

http://www.brownells.com/handgun-parts/grip-parts/grips/browning-hi-power-combat-grips-prod9563.aspx?avs%7cMake~~Model_1=Browning__High%2520Power

Sorry, can't seem to make the whole link hot.  It'll work if you copy and paste.

http://www.brownells.com/handgun-parts/grip-parts/grips/browning-hi-power-combat-grips-prod9563.aspx

Looks great!
I'm in the same boat as you, a new set of springs is sorely needed on my BHP. I've personally never held a weapon that fits so well.

Looks like an Argie FM to me. I say that with about 95% certainty, considering the serial and the markings.

Great guns, I've got about a dozen of them, so I'm a fan!

ETA: To answer your question more clearly, it was not produced by FN of Belgium. It was manufactured under license in Argentina by FM, sometime between 1969-1989. If Burgs or Submoa come along, they can elaborate more than I.

+1
FN never marked any HP's with the "F.N. Browning" rollmark and the Argentines did until FN threatened legal action.

The serial number and other marks you've shown are consistent with an "FM" Hi Power.

The Argentine military initially ordered FN Hi Powers from Herstal in Belgium and liked them so much that they negotiated a license to produce them in Argentina beginning in 1969.  The Argentine Hi Powers were made by Direccion General Fabrications Militaries and are commonly called  "FM Hi Powers".   They were made by FM under license to FN and were inspected by FN staff.  They are in that regard true FN Hi Powers and are an exact duplicate of the 1965 Pre-Mk II FN Hi Power, complete with small slide cut and small safety. The early production FMs had a lanyard ring and were roll marked:
Fabrica Militar De Armas Portatilies GM Rosario
D.G. F. M.
Licencia FN Browning      Industria Argentina

Based on the FMs I've seen, the roll marks varied a lot over the 20 years they were made under license, but with a general reduction in letters over time. The later production pistols seem to be roll marked "F.N. Browning", and later still "F.M. Browning", sometimes over "Industria Argentina" and sometimes not.    

In 1989 the license with FN expired and was not renewed.  However, in 1990 FM continued to manufacture them without a license as the "M90".  The major difference in these post license pistols was the lack of any taper in the upper front of the slide which thus looked very much like a 1911 slide.   As far as I can tell these are all marked "FM" rather than "FN".  In 1995 FM started producing a compact version as the M95 Detective.

Thanks a lot for the feedback, I appreciate it. That's about what I was expecting, so thanks for the confirmation and for narrowing down the date range. I kind of like the simplified markings. Are the tooling marks on the trigger guard, slide locking lever, etc. a characteristic of these Argentinian pistols? It looks a bit rough compared to photos I've seen of Belgian Hi-Powers.

I've looked at those grips before - they do look nice, but as I said, I don't feel like spending $50 on new grips for this pistol when I won't be carrying it or evening shooting it very often. Any money that I put into it will go towards a new safety or maybe sights.

The FM Hi Powers normally have a heavy phosphate finished and there's no real need to get a high polish if that finish is the end goal, but FM's level of polish was never at the same level as FNs.

FN however also parkerized many of its military contract pistols and they've had an epoxy finish option for quite a while now as well.

I don't think anyone has ever regarded an Argentine licensed copy of the Hi Power as a "true FN Hi Power"..........mostly because they weren't FN's by any stretch of the imagination, FN being Fabrique Nationale of Belgium. Similarly, FN/Browning collectors don't consider Japanese made Miroku firearms as "true FN".

I do agree that the quality of HP's produced under license by FM is every bit as good as FN. But once that license ended, so did that quality.

I don't recall ever seeing Argentina proofing guns, so the proof marks on your pistol are probably acceptance marks from some military or law enforcement agency that bought the guns from FM.  Unfortunately I don't recognize the mark and can't tell you what it means.